Mighty 8th GB 1-Nov-2010 - 31-Oct-2011

simpilot34

Even though there isn't exhaust shrouds Doogs, you also have to take into account that it probably at some point had them. Possibly even on several occasions as engine changes were common.

I've also read that they were often taken on and off, perhaps depending on the mission. My understanding is the aluminum shrouds where there in the name of aerodynamics.

But verifiable evidence of the unshrouded exhaust...tempting. I LOVE Ultracast's resin manifolds, and the unshrouded ones are so much easier to deal with (paint manifolds, paint aircraft, insert manifolds in aircraft).

Maybe I'll gank the unshrouded manifold from the set I got for the -51D.

Bish

Thats more than ok. I haven't put down an airfield as it seems this unit occupied 5 in the UK during its stay. Do you know for this aircraft.

All I found was that Mahurin was with the 56th's 63rd Fighting Squadron at Halesworth

Thats good enough. That will put it between July 43 and April 44.

Bish-I just ordered my decals-I'll be building Billy Edens' P-47.  Capt. Edens flew out of Boxted with the 62FS.

Based on a quick Google of Capt. Edens, I'll have a bit of history to share about Capt. Edens when the build is complete....unless the group can't wait and searches on their own....which is strongly encouraged...

So I just found out I have Tamiyas P-51B that has markings for 355th FG, 358th FS. If all fails with the P-38 I will do this one.

Bish

Thats good enough. That will put it between July 43 and April 44.

I've been doing more research and the markings are for his plane as it looked in March 1944;  I believe I read he was shot down a month later

As for the kit, I bought it today and I have 2 words to say: Wow and Ouch.  Wow because this is my first Tamiya kit and I'm just amazed at the quality of it, and Ouch because of the $43 price tag

ww2psycho

So I just found out I have Tamiyas P-51B that has markings for 355th FG, 358th FS. If all fails with the P-38 I will do this one.

Finished that kit about a month ago. Amazingly well engineered. Didn't need more than a bit of a polishing sand along the major joins. Might want to watch out for the decals, though. Mine were pretty thick and didn't want to have anything to do with settling down into the panel lines.

redraider56 Thanks, that confirms Halesworth, bobbaily is doing an aircrfat from the same group but at the airfield they moved to from Halesworth. I ahve a few tamiya kits in the stash, all 72nd, but haven't built any yet. But i have only heard good things, but your right, they are pricey. But i always believe you get what you pay for.

ww2psycho i will leave it for now, hopefully the P-38 will come off. Will be nice to have a good vareity of aircraft.

DoogsATX So am i right in thinking the P-51B you are doing for this GB is the same kit but different markings. And would i also be right in thinking you have a thing for P-51's. And that P-51B looks amazing.

Thanks bish, depending on how things go I might be able to both, I dropped one of the GBs I was in, never started the model yet and lost interest. If I can manage to get a decent sleep schedual with work Itd help my model buidling time too. (Most of the time I work 3rd shift for two weeks and 1st shift one week)

The P-38 should be in today or tomorrow, I'm guessing today though. Its being shipped priority mail and was mailed out monday from Florida. I live in Wisconsin so I would think it'd come today but you never know.

Bish

DoogsATX So am i right in thinking the P-51B you are doing for this GB is the same kit but different markings. And would i also be right in thinking you have a thing for P-51's. And that P-51B looks amazing.

Yep. Same kit, different markings. This time I think I'll do a closed canopy, though. Masking the inside frames of the portside panel was a nightmare.

Funny thing is, I actually don't have a thing for P-51s. I love the development story ("hey, what if we crammed this engine into it?"), and respect their amazing contribution to the war, but my first love is the P-47. Haven't bought one yet because I want to hone my skills a bit more so I can do it justice.

ww2psycho

 

. I live in Wisconsin so I would think it'd come today but you never know.

Yay for wisconsinites!

ww2psycho I know what you mean about work. My modelling has to keep being put on hold because of work. I ahve had to drop out of a few GB's because of it. Worse thing is i only build at work and not at home.

DoogATX If thats what you produce when your just honeing your modelling, i can't wait to see what you do when you have them honed. I have a thing for Ju-87's, got 11 in the stash but still haven't got round to building one yet.

Bish

DoogATX If thats what you produce when your just honeing your modelling, i can't wait to see what you do when you have them honed. I have a thing for Ju-87's, got 11 in the stash but still haven't got round to building one yet.

Thanks man! Believe it or not, that Mustang was actually my first build since 2000 or so. It was a great intro back into the hobby, and I think probably the best finished result I've ever pulled off.  I'm actually happier with my Dauntless WIP, but it's also become sort of a giant test lab for various techniques I've been reading about. About half of them are working out like I'd hoped.

P-38 came today. The decals are for the fighter version, not the droopsnoot. I'm happy either way, gotta live fighters! Its a Neutral Grey and Olive Drab, with a red nose camo. Decaling will take longer than what i've done on other aircraft. I will be finishing my Me109 before starting this or the Mustang.

DoogsATX Deffinatly can't wait to see more of your builds. I was forced to take a break which lasted 5 years and only got back in at the start of 08. But my modelling has improved more in that time than it did in the 20 years i was building before. This site has been a great help.

ww2psycho Well chuffed that has come through. So thats a Academy 1/48th P-38J correct? Can you give me the unit and location.

Bish

But my modelling has improved more in that time than it did in the 20 years i was building before. This site has been a great help.

Agreed! I wandered away from modeling right around the time the internet was starting to gain steam. Back when I was regularly building - through about '96 or so - my only access to tips and techniques was FSM and the like. My only access to kits outside the LHS was Squadron mail order. Coming back and seeing the changes the internet has wrought is really pretty amazing. There's so much information out there, and so well documented, that yeah, it's already taken my modeling way past where it's been before.

Oh, and I broke down and placed a bid on a Monogram P-47D from the 56th. Figure, you know, a stepping stone before I go whole hog with a Tamiyabolt. Built one back in the day and remember really liking it. If I end up winning I'll go ahead and add that to this GB as well.

I had access to the net from about 2001 for about 2 years before i stopped modelling, but i didn't really access the net for my hobby. I did register on here but never came on. But i had been getting the mag since the early 90's. While the mag is great, the good thing about this place is that if somone post a techniqure and you are not sure about anything, you can always ask, which you can't do with the mag.

Add as many as you like. The other 2 guys doing 56th FG P-47's are doing the Tamiya kits so will be nice to get a comparison with the Monogram and you migth pick up a few pointers from their builds. Thats one of the great things about GB's.

Bish- The P-38 decal sheet says 55th FS/ 338th FG 8th AF. I will try to find the location. Good thing this doesnt start till Nov. I keep running into things on my other GB. Nothing that is hard to fix, just taking more time than I'd like.

Bish

The other 2 guys doing 56th FG P-47's are doing the Tamiya kits so will be nice to get a comparison with the Monogram and you migth pick up a few pointers from their builds. Thats one of the great things about GB's.

I built the Monogram 1/48 P-47 Razorback a few years back when I was starting (over) modeling.  The kit really wasn't bad, aside from raised panel lines and a sparse cockpit.  However, with the canopy closed, you never see the cockpit.  At the end of the day, it looks like a P-47 and is a great platform to practice on painting & weathering.  And for the price difference....well, if I hadn't picked my Tamiya kits up off the Hobby Lobby clearance table, I'd have to consider the Monogram kit.  IMHO, retail for any Tamiya/Hasegawa kit is a bit too steep for me.

Can't speak to Hasegawa kits, as I've kind of ignored them, but I've found Tamiya kits to be all over the road. The Jugs strike me as pricey, but I think the Mustangs and Corsairs and the like are pretty reasonably priced. I picked up both B's for around $23 each, and got my D for $20. 

And Hobby Lobby inflates the prices of Tamiya kits BIGTIME. At least the ones around here. 1/35 M4A3 Sherman for something like $70. And a 1/48 Mosquito for $80. 

Sorry. The Mosquito is a cool plane and all, but it's not $80 worth of cool.

DoogsATX

And Hobby Lobby inflates the prices of Tamiya kits BIGTIME. At least the ones around here. 1/35 M4A3 Sherman for something like $70. And a 1/48 Mosquito for $80. 

Sorry. The Mosquito is a cool plane and all, but it's not $80 worth of cool.

I got a Mosse at Hobby Lobby but I think it was $70 normal price, but I used the 40% off coupon to get it.

ww2psycho

Bish- The P-38 decal sheet says 55th FS/ 338th FG 8th AF.

I take it thats 55th FG 338th FS. That would either put it as Nuthampstead or Wormingford, depending on date. Here is a couple of links, you might find something useful.

http://www.littlefriends.co.uk/55thfg.php

http://mighty8thaf.preller.us/php/1Unit.php?Unitkey=55

Being in the UK our prices are usually higher than yours anyway. But over here i don't think Tamiya is to bad. I just compared Fw 190 kits, and the tamiya ones are more than say Acedamy and revell, around £10 for the Tam and around the fiver mark for the other two, they are still cheaper than the AZ model kits, and i have no idea what they are like.

As for the Mossie, i think you guys are being ripped off i found two Tamiya 1/48th kits for £22, which is about $30-£35.

Bish

Being in the UK our prices are usually higher than yours anyway. But over here i don't think Tamiya is to bad. I just compared Fw 190 kits, and the tamiya ones are more than say Acedamy and revell, around £10 for the Tam and around the fiver mark for the other two, they are still cheaper than the AZ model kits, and i have no idea what they are like.

As for the Mossie, i think you guys are being ripped off i found two Tamiya 1/48th kits for £22, which is about $30-£35.

Just glancing at Sprue Bros, Tamiya's got two Fw 190s, an A3 and a D9, going for $23.50, in range with the 'stangs, Corsairs and the like. Hasegawa's got 190s ranging from $25-70. Personally, just based on seeing what my F6F-3 looks like on the sprue, I'd seriously consider spending $30 or so on the Eduard kits.

As for the Mossie, I mostly noted the $80 (sorry...$79.99) with a shake of the head. Sprue Bros. has two kits for around $30 each. 

A few of the Tamiya kits can get ridiculous, but they seem relatively few and far between in 48th scale. Though I still think the Jug is pricey. 

I cannot find the location, theres info about the pilot and everything but no location. I'll keep searching though.

One thing, did all planes have the pilots names on them? My decal sheet does not have a decal for that.

Whats the tail code for the aircraft. And if your instructions say 55th FS/338th FG they have it the wrong way round. But that wouldn't be a first.

I am not 100% certain, but i don't think they all had the names. Most pilots would have flown more than one aircrfat due to damage and when given a replacement i guess putting your name and other markings would not be a priority.

in the decal instruction sheet there isnt a tail number, its a white circle on the outside and a T on the inside, on the side of the booms it has a T then CL.

I just realized that on the packaging for the decals it has 55th FS/ 338th FG 8th AF. Then on the instruction sheet it says "Stinger" 55th FG/ 338th FG, 8th AF 1944.

If more info is needed I will scan the instructions and post the pic.

Check this link, about the 17th one down. CL-T 'Stinger' flown by Lt Thomas D Schank. Doen't give any dates. Well if we can't pin down a specific date, we will just leave it open to either one of those airfields.

http://www.littlefriends.co.uk/55thfg.php

And here are a couple of other links that might be useful. The first is the 55th FG site. Click planes, then 338th FS. You will see CL-T stinger down the lict. You can click the link for the pilot and the aircraft. On the link for your pilot it says he join the unit on the 24th of April. thats puts him at Wormingford.

http://www.55th.org/

And the second should be your aircraft

http://www.station131.co.uk/55th/images/Plane%20Photos/338th%20FS/P-38J%2042-104106%20Stinger%20CL-T.jpg

Bish

Check this link, about the 17th one down. CL-T 'Stinger' flown by Lt Thomas D Schank. Doen't give any dates. Well if we can't pin down a specific date, we will just leave it open to either one of those airfields.

http://www.littlefriends.co.uk/55thfg.php

And here are a couple of other links that might be useful. The first is the 55th FG site. Click planes, then 338th FS. You will see CL-T stinger down the lict. You can click the link for the pilot and the aircraft. On the link for your pilot it says he join the unit on the 24th of April. thats puts him at Wormingford.

http://www.55th.org/

And the second should be your aircraft

http://www.station131.co.uk/55th/images/Plane%20Photos/338th%20FS/P-38J%2042-104106%20Stinger%20CL-T.jpg

 

 

I did go to those links, thats how I found the pilot and the pic. I will use that pic as insperation to build it.

In the notes it shows this:

From Greeley, Colorado.
24 April 1944 - Joined the 338th Fighter Squadron
26 August 1944 - Awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross
05 September 1944 - Recorded as 'Not Yet Returned' from the mission.
06 October 1944 - Ended Tour of Duty

Does that mean on 05 September 1944 he was shot down?

Possably. It could be that he had to land somewhere else, or ditch somewhere.

I did find this site, which says that Schank is credited with 5 kills.

http://www.americanfighteraces.org/wwllusaf_n-s.html

And did you spot this link. There are 2 entries for him on the 25th July, and one on the 19th Sept, which is just after he failed to return.

http://www.station131.co.uk/55th/Encounter%20Reports.htm